This paper was presented at
the DEHS 2008 autumn meeting held at Shrivenham

PDF

Synopsis (at
page 1)

During the
previous DEHS meeting held on 18 October last year at Shrivenham, it appeared to
me - that everything that had happened outside Britain does barely exist,
including a degree of animosity towards the US[1].
It has to be pointed, though, that the same may be said from the other side of
the Ocean, where a similar lack of appreciation for what had happened abroad is
also eminent. I truly believe, that historical distortions should be corrected.

My aim this time
is to discuss aspects on - what was the philosophy behind German military
communications and why have they commenced it this way?

Some aspects have
been dealt with in previous papers, and will be omitted when appropriate. It is,
nevertheless, unavoidable that some has to be referred to again.[2]

To state it frank
and clearly, the aim (meaning) of this contribution is only to be considered
from the perspective of fair historical interest and from the point of view of
electronics engineering. The immoral implications of war, in particularly WW I
and II, is always bearing in my mind!

New ways of
apparatus construction and design owing to revolutionary new components and
metallurgy

II. Pre-war Army (Heer)
and Air Force (GAF) demands

Autarky a
necessity

Army
communication demands

III. Interception service

IV. Tank communication (Guderian)

V. Special Navy
requirements

Submarine communication objectives

Introduction to:

Organisation of
submarine communications

Was Enigma a
secure system?

VI.Conclusions

Reflection

[1] Whether we like it or not,
without America’s impetus Britain never would have gained victory.
Whereas communists might have ruled, sooner or later, most of
continental Europe, and Churchill knew it!

[2] Available on my website
www.cdvandt.org please activate top button: ‘Synopsis’
on “The significance of German electronic engineering in the 1930s”.
Which paper was given at the international IEEE Conference on “100 Years
of Electronics” at Bletchley Park in June 2004. Which latter is an
enhanced version of my previous paper given at the IEE Conference on
“100 Years of Radio” (Savoy Place, London, September 1995).

I would like now to point at a facet that not often is associated to wartime
history.

If
we leave out the direct war engagements, there is another very significant point
which has to be considered, and that is – the complete absence of a form of
“democracy”. When we look back in history, even the recent one, then there is
one striking aspect and that is - that prosperity on the long run can only being
achieved, when a state is democratically governed. Look, for instance, to the
Netherlands in the seventeenth century, where they established world’s first
multi-national “VOC” (Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie), since 1604. One might
say, hold on, in those days they did not have real democracy. That is to some
extent true, but there existed a fairly kind of freedom to (jointly) decide
commercially on business facts only (entrepreneurship)[1]
hence, decision was not based on dogmatism (state canon). France, under Napoleon
Bonaparte was doomed to fail, as what mainly counted was Napoleon’s dogma. An
example of our recent past – look to what happened to the communists in Russia
and Eastern-Europe, during the previous century. All failed to gain prosperity.
China would have been trapped in the same manner, should it not have changed the
way in which decisions are being engendered, although, they still have a (very)
long way ahead.

Last
but not least, the best example is Britain!

[1] To some extent, the great
achievements of the Roman Empire may also be regarded an example,
including their ultimate (imperative)
decline.